


they spoke with roses on their tongues

by hoasen



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Haruno Sakura Deserves Better, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I thought I knew how sealing worked, Light Angst, Time Travel Fix-It, no beta we die like men, sad boys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-03-29 12:12:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19019683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoasen/pseuds/hoasen
Summary: Sakura had worked for this, the years upon decades of pouring over seals for she'll finally be that child of fate(Haruno Sakura will finally be everything she wants to)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sakura has issues

She seethes, and she seethes, and she  _ seethes. _

 

Sakura is tired, and life has moved on because nothing ever  _ waits. _ Nothing waits for her, not Naruto, or her daughter.

 

Not Ino and especially not Sasuke. Because Sakura was not Uchiha, nor was she Naruto who fate bends to his side. She was Haruno, a name of a name of nothing and nothing of importance.

 

Haruno Sakura was not the child of fate.

 

Her hands had bled and continued to, she runs because she is nothing. There was nothing for her in the first place, nothing but a role to play to please the hierarchy. Sakura heals because it was her role to act as a replacement to Tsunade. She resented it, the only thing that could burn into her heart was the truth that she was meant to be forgotten.

 

Another face in the Genin Corps. 

 

Kakashi-sensei never saw her as anything more, Naruto saw her as something to protect, and not once did she register in her Academy's instructor's eyes.

 

Average, average, average, average,  _ average. _

 

Because Haruno Sakura is Haruno, a name of a name of nothing and nothing of importance. A civilian child wandering into a world she has no claims to.

 

There's a part of her who hates Naruto.

 

No, not like before.

 

It felt hollow, aching now. Because the one who had once claimed to fight against fate was a child of one. Of a prophecy of a prophecy, of a legend and a god.  A lost clan, a birthright to claim, and power seeping through his skin. 

 

His suffering was like her's, Sakura had once thought. Because they were nothing special, the very bottom of the pyramid. It was wrong of her, Naruto was never nothing---he was  _ everything _ .

 

Everything Naruto was, Sakura coveted. The raw power, the way Sasuke's eyes could only ever look at the blonde.

 

It makes her throat burn to like this.

 

Uzumaki Naruto---he cared for her in this existence and she’ll thank him for that. Even if he only sought to protect her, it was good enough. To him, she was not a tool, not a shadow of a person who's long gone, and she thanks him for that.

 

Yet she's already here, with an empty room and even emptier house. Her daughter was gone, the father was never there in the first place. Footsteps echoed as she walked down into the room that once belonged to Sarada's father.

 

“Ah, if only I had believed you,” Sakura mutters, “but you died yet nothing changes.”

 

Scrolls and seals laid on top of each other in perfect alignment. Books stacked on top of one another and the ink-stained wooden tiles of the Uchiha clan. Her husband and daughter are long gone, somewhere far from this house with their only imprint being fans etched into the walls.

 

She was Haruno, a nothing who will bleed into a something. Continue to seethe until she is content. 

 

If not in this life, then the next. 

 

There is no prophecy, no gods, for the Haruno so she makes one herself. Nothing is waiting and Haruno Sakura no longer waits.

 

She lays her hands on the center of alignment.

 

“Seal.”

 

\---

 

The next time Haruno Sakura wakes, it is as an Academy student. Knobby knees, teary-eyed, and unblemished skin at the wake of dawn. Soft pink hair falls across her back in cascades like waterfalls. It falls on top of a delicate red dress mother embroidered on her twelfth birthday and Sakura could barely stand.

 

The mirror reflects a memory so distant it  _ hurts. _ Wide green eyes and delicate face of a civilian child stares back at her unblinkingly.

 

“Kai,” Sakura brings her hand into the ram seal.

 

Pink hair civilian in the picture grins---sharp edges forming in the reflection's eyes and Sakura takes in a deep breath, tipping her head to the side. The blood on her hand bleeds and  _ bleeds _ till it gets her somewhere, anywhere away from nothing. 

 

Seething till Sakura obtains that  _ ‘everything’ _ .

 

She leaves for the Academy in a haste, sparing her parents only a nod. The world around her floods with age-old nostalgia. Four faces look down upon her from the cliff of her daughter's dreams and roads preserved from the village's beginnings. Her beginnings.

 

Sakura doesn't dwell on it, she couldn't, today was the practical portion of the Genin Exams according to the reminders plastered over her notes. Genin Exams mean silence and a jonin in every corner.

 

A blonde boy runs up to her, “Good morning Sakura-chan!”

 

“Oh,” Sakura closes her eyes and smiles, “Hello Naruto.”

 

The boy beams at her acknowledgment and a part of her softens. From what she could tell, Naruto doesn't notice anything from her. His right eyebrow doesn't twitch, and he starts shifting his weight into his left side. 

 

Sakura sits next to Naruto that day, waiting patiently as they're called into the examination room. Hushed whispers pervaded their classroom the moment that their sensei was replaced by an old jonin guard. Names were called out by the old jonin every once in a while in the order of their identification numbers.

 

“So Sakura-chan! What’re those swirly things?” Naruto points to the seals her dress couldn’t cover.

 

She laughs.

 

“Hmm, maybe when you’re older.”

 

“Did Sakura-chan get tattoos? Or a scar?!” excited whispers erupted from the blonde boy.

 

“No, not that,” Sakura tilts her head back, “you’ll have to figure it out for yourself.”

 

Naruto pouts and Sakura debates whether she should tell him now or not. The seals decorating her skin reached from her collar bone to ankles are Uzu seals after all, as bastardized as they might seem. She wasn't skilled enough to make them fade into her skin just yet, after all these years.

 

It was temporary for now because chakra is mind and body, yin and yang that must be balanced. Twelve-year-old Haruno Sakura was never the most well-balanced, but with the yin chakra equivalent to six decades of life? Her control will plummet and troublesome questions will be asked.

 

“Haruno Sakura,” the old jonin says.

 

Sakura walks into the examination room with tense shoulders and an expression that mirrors a typical twelve-year-old with their first major test. There was no room for blunder now she’s gotten this far.

 

The examiners look over her Academy reports and glances at the clock. It was a rather repetitive cycle and Sakura pities them---even when she was a child. The pay was meager, badly enough to live and the work days dragged on.

 

Half of the instructors here were veterans too injured to work or chunin with no hope of climbing the latter. So Umino Iruka was a surprise, with a smile and cheerful voice he was Sakura's favorite.

 

She brings her hands up into the ram seal, “Henge!”

 

A few notes were jotted down and she continues to substitution, then to bunshin, and a spar with an examiner. Everything was exactly passable, with only her henge being slightly better than last time. There was no need to change anything in the team placements after all.

 

Sakura wanders the streets after school lets out. Her parents worked late and outside of the village making deliveries to nearby towns. 

 

Drifting shop by shop until she comes by her usual place, a quaint shop located on the edge of the clan districts, Sakura hesitantly walks inside. An old man sits behind a register with a book one hand and a pen in another. He gives her a quick nod, directing her to the weapons section.

 

There wasn't much she needed, her equipment met the standard requirements (if not more) and Sakura was certain she had a few storage scrolls  _ somewhere. _

 

Several bundles of senbon laid in her hands and a scroll of chakra paper in the other. If she was had any less self-control, the tanto on the upper shelves would be in her arms too.

 

When she gets home, the moon was looking down upon her. Crows flew across the night into the abandoned Uchiha District. 

 

But it wasn't any of her business.

 

Her parent's house was bare except for a few picture frames and Sakura's potted plants. The furniture was worn from years of use and the couch smelled of  _ homehomehomehappychildhoodinnocence--- _

 

Sakura spends the night reworking her outfit, sewing the red dress into something more workable because there was no way she could ever afford another outfit. Most shinobi have their clothes tailored by professionals and materials from the capital. Her dress was the best a civilian could ever get and Sakura tries to be content with that.

 

She isn't. 

 

Instead, she opts with her father's old work clothes and works the tattered mess into her dress? Whatever it was now.

 

So when Sakura walks into the classroom the next morning with hair braided back and a brown bag slung over her body, people stare. Ino, dear Ino is smirking from her seat with crossed arms and dancing eyes.

 

“Hey, Billboard Brow! You're late!” Ino points to the boy next to her, “Sasuke-kun's all mine now!”

 

“Ah, it seems like I've gotten lost on the road of life,” then Sakura grits her teeth, “Besides, Sasuke's obviously marrying me.”

 

_ They were better off not thinking anything's changed. _

 

This was the part to elicits anger from the other girls. They come storming up to her, faces red.

 

“Hey! Just cause you've got a new outfit doesn't mean Sasuke-kun's looking at you!” a brown-haired girl yells at her.

 

“Your’s look very pretty as well,” Sakura muttered, eyes drooping.

 

The girl becomes flustered, “Well, duh! Of course, my outfit would look than yours!”

 

“Jealous?”

 

There was a pause.

 

The nameless girls start hurling insults at Sakura and she does the same. Ino joins in at one point, and the spat became a three-way argument that was only stopped when Naruto kisses Sasuke.

 

Ah yes, this part. Everyone is horrified at the sight and Sasuke’s fan club  _ rages.  _ If it wasn’t for Iruka arriving on time like always, then she would’ve done something regretful again. The brown-haired man lays down his book and begins his speech.

 

\---

 

Kakashi-sensei is late.

 

Later than last time by two hours so far. Sakura glances at her teammates impatiently waiting on the desks. Sasuke has his nose in a book with scrunched eyebrows and Naruto who’s already ranted for the last two hour or so about their late instructor, taps his foot on the floor, leaning his chair back.

 

“He’s not coming.”

 

“Hn.”

 

“It’s almost seven,” she sighs, “My place is close by, I still have yesterday’s leftovers so you guys don’t have to starve.”

 

“Uh-h Sakura-chan! You’re serious?!” Naruto bounces from his seat.

 

“Why not?” 

 

The blonde boy shouts loudly into the air as he jumps down to where Sakura was.

 

Sasuke gives a small grunt but gets up from his seat anyhow, eyebrows still scrunched together. The boys follow her back home without much fuss, it was a relatively short walk with her house being only ten minutes away from the Academy.

 

When they arrive, she tells the boys to settle down a take a shower. It was more of reluctant agreement on their part as they wait for Sakura to finish heating the food.

 

“Sakura-chan,” Naruto says in an almost quiet voice.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Are you sure your parents won't mind? That I'm… ” the blonde's voice betrays him as it becomes meeker.

 

She pours yesterday's soup into three bowls and sighs, “Who cares? They're not even going to be in this house for the next three weeks.”

 

“But---”

 

“I don't mind and that's all that matters right now so help me bring the dishes to the table.”

 

Naruto doesn't bring up that topic again for the rest of the night. Once Sasuke was out of the shower coincidentally smelling like the citrus rose perfume her mother stocked, the food was already halfway finished. A part of her blooms with warmth when Sasuke sits down with them. It's been such a long time since them three were ‘family’ like this.

 

“We might have to go back to the Academy,” Sasuke says after much deliberation, “Our jounin sensei must be furious.”

 

“Well it's not our fault he's so late!” Naruto said.

 

“Jounin can easily repeal our rank without much paperwork if they have the Hokage's approval.”

 

Naruto huffs, “The Old Man isn't going to let me go back to the Academy!”

 

Sakura takes a long sip from her oolong tea, “Naruto is right Sasuke.”

 

The black hair boy shoots her a look akin to that starving cat, and he hisses. Sakura waves him off and begins telling them about the current village political climate. She brings out files from her parent’s room detailing some of the dealings of the civilian council. It’s rather foolish in Sakura’s perspective that shinobi are taught to ignore the civilian side in every conflict. Then she moves onto clan politics which Sakura is even more aware that she has no business in.

 

“Despite what people say, Sasuke, your clan was very influential in the civilian world,” she pulls out a diagram of the council, “Currently, the Uchiha clan owns more than half of the shares to many wealthy individuals in the civilian council.”

 

Sasuke snorts, “Civilians don’t have any say in shinobi matters.”

 

“Civilians run this village, Sasuke,” she turns to Naruto, “You better be listening if you’re aiming for the Hokage’s seat!”

 

“Yeah, but I already know this stuff! The Old Man talks about it all the time ‘cause the economy and stuff.”

 

“Look Sasuke, you have the civilian council on your side along with some elders and the Third has a soft spot for Naruto. They can and will force whatever jounin to teach you anyways.”

 

“Oh! And genin teams have to be a three-man unit always!”

 

Sasuke nods and stares at his food, across from him, Naruto is grinning as he avidly tells Sakura all he knew. It's hard not to be a little impressed of his teammates. Naruto, who frequently henges into civilian women when doing groceries is the most aware of the political climate in Konoha through word of the mouth. Sakura is even more so, she's  _ different _ , to say the least.

 

“What about the clan council then?” Sasuke said.

 

“Hmm, they would be a problem since once you're genin---an adult---you'll be able to take care of your finances.”

 

_ ‘The clans fear the Uchiha.’ _

 

The boys frown at that and collapsed into thought again.

 

“But don't they want the Sharingan in their forces as soon as possible?” Naruto points to his eyes, “It's what one dude in the Old Man's office always say!”

 

_ Oh, Danzo. _

 

“And that's why we'll be promoted to genin no matter what.”

 

“Hn,” whatever was on Sasuke's face, it looked like a smile.

 

Sakura fights to hide grins bubbling from her. Her boys can't leave her behind this time if they're so intrinsically dependant on her, on her knowledge.

 

Because in this life, Haruno Sakura will become something _.  _ Something, something,  _ something _ , anything but nothing. That future of her's will never become anything but a dream.

 

The seals on her arm, on her soul, can burn through her into ashes but it can't take this away from her. Her boys may be the children of prophecy but she'll be the one to make fate bend to her.

 

“Why don't you guys stay here for the night and tomorrow we can storm the Administration building?"


	2. there lies a pretty dogwood tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Seven meet their jounin instructor.
> 
> (Everthing's changing too quickly, too fast and Sakura can't breathe)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates will be a bit sporadic and somewhat of everywhere, anyhow, I hope you like this chapter!

When Sasuke wakes up, there's breakfast on the table for him and Naruto. He's been thinking about it all night, the way Sakura changed. They're storming the Administration Building this morning once Sakura teaches them how to properly use ninja wires. It's strange, to say the least.

He knows she hasn't slept since last night, from the lethargic yawns to the light in her room stays on till sunrise. On her arms were faded black characters that more resembled an explosive tag than that of a book. The moment she sees him, Sakura scrambles to cover up her arms with a brown jacket.

“Oh, Sasuke!” she gives a nervous chuckle, “I hope you like omelets.”

“Why do you have explosive tags drawn on your arm?”

Naruto slides into the kitchen in a burst of exuberance, “Since I'm genin now, can't you tell me?”

There was a sigh of defeat, “My chakra is… unstable, this isn't an explosion seal, Sasuke, it's a storage seal for my chakra.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, this wasn't really the full story, was it? What she said was true—that much he could tell. He had heard tales of sealing before from older textbooks within the clan. An art that took users years upon decades to masters, one so powerful it could bring nations to their knees.

He doesn't pry for any more information because that'll be useless, instead, Sasuke lets Naruto talk. It's fascinating how easily Sakura bends to Naruto's whims like she hasn't declared him her mortal enemy days ago.

“Sakura-chan! Teach me!” Naruto yells when Sakura lets him look at her arm a little closer.

She looks as if she's entertaining the idea, humming softly and her head tired to the side. Sasuke knows this look too well, a calculated facade of consideration doused in subtle guilt. If he was any less of a shinobi, he would believe her like Naruto who's bouncing in anticipation.

“Maybe later,” there's a guilty smile and Sasuke sees red.

“Can’t you just say no?” 

The girl grins, “I can’t deny someone of their birthright, can I?”

-

Walking to the Administration Building was tense to say the least. The group walked down the road in silence, they went to the boys’ places to get a new change of clothes first. They had been wearing Sakura’s clothes, the ones she claimed was her father’s.

Green eyes dart back and forth the closer they get to their final destination. There are ANBU swarming this place, jumping from rooftop to rooftop in dead silence. It's almost strange how this one building had felt more like home than her parent's house ever had.

“You guys ready?”

There's a dangerous glint in Naruto's eyes, “Oh hell yeah, ya know!”

“Hn.”

The trio get in easier than expected, the staff have them side glances but nothing more. Sakura had almost forgotten about Naruto's free pass or whatever it was that let them pass without questions. 

Naruto kicks the Hokage's door open, “Hey! Old Man! Where's our jounin sensei?”

Inside was the Sandaime and two ANBU guards who disappear the moment Naruto had kicked the door. Sakura hears a sigh as the Sandaime puts down his pen. 

“Good evening, Team 7, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience yesterday,” the Hokage said, “Your sensei was currently occupied with a previous mission at the time and was not present in the village. It seems like you had left before my couriers arrived.”

This was strange. 

“Excuse me, Lord Third, but aren't jounin instructors given a three-day break before genin assignments for observation?” Sakura gives him her brightest smile.

The smile wasn’t fake, nor was its intensity a lie. There's a glee to it that Sasuke finds all the more familiarity in. 

“Yes, however—”

“Had there been a mishap in the paperwork?” there’s no response to her question, only a deep look that brings the boys’ eyes away.

Her shoulders are stiff, but her smile doesn't waver. The Hokage's office was quiet and Sakura  _ knows  _ she overstepped her boundaries. This was alright though, her years in the Administration Building from before is more than enough to handle this.

“It seems like an emergency has occurred, Team Seven, however, your temporary instructor will arrive in a moment's notice.”

“Is that so?” Sakura lifts an eyebrow, “I am humbled you had prepared another instructor for us, but may I inquire something?”

_ Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck— _

“Go on.”

“Why did Lord Third not send word of our instructor's lateness?”

“The emergency required prioritization over other matters at that moment,” he resumes his paperwork, “Now if you won't excuse me, your temporary instructor will fetch you in the waiting area.”

Team Seven leaves, with heavy hearts and even heavier minds. They stayed by one of the tall beams, waiting for whatever poor hack the Sandaime had assigned to watch them. There’s a poignant silence that rings throughout that small corner of theirs, mirroring one of Tsunade’s more somber drinking bouts.

A jonin, around Kakashi’s age eventually walks up to them. His stance is relaxed and hooded eyes half-opened. There’s a sword strapped to his back along with a senbon twirling around his fingers.

“Team Seven?” he coughs, “Come with me, I will be your instructor’s substitute, Gekko Hayate.”

Sakura knows this man, knows the one dead and the ones he left behind. Gekko Hayate was skilled, that she’s aware of, skilled but oh so weak. The man is dying, from some form of slow-acting pneumonia that's drowning him inside out. Pneumonia they only found out after his death. It’s a miracle the hospitals would let him continue at this state.

The brown-haired man leads them to an empty field at the edge of Konoha. He was holding back, his footsteps are forced, making a noticeable effort to step on stray branches as he guides Team Seven.

The boys are in some mock race as they noisily see who can catch up to Hayate the fastest. Naruto is winning, even if Sasuke is behind of him by a half-meter or two. The blond boy is strong, he has the energy to outlast all of Team Seven and their jounin instructor combined.

“I’ve already read your Academy Reports and I will assume you know each other,” he beckons Sakura over, “We will start our first lesson with a spar, feel free to come at me with all you got.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gekko Hayate draws a kunai and Sakura does the same, there was a second of hesitation before the both of them moved. Within that small second, Sakura reminds herself of her role. Because no, a weak genin could never stand a chance against a tokubetsu jonin or fight like a war veteran.

Dodge, parry, slip, recover and strike like a child. 

Dodge, parry, slip and recover.

“Kai!” she breaks the low-leveled genjutsu like the Academy reports predicted she could and launches two slightly off shuriken when the jonin strikes her kunai away.

Dodge, parry, slip and recover.

Make a mistake.

He was skilled and more perceptive than she had originally thought. The kunai in his hand moved like a tanto, sleek and effortless. The boys watched with hypnotized-like eyes as the match continues. It’s after an incense stick’s time when the jonin goes for a killing strike, a slow, deliberate slash shy of her carotid artery.

“I surrender,” Sakura drops her kunai. 

He nods and motions for Naruto to spar next. The blond boy picks up her kunai with a smile, getting into his battle stance. It’s as she remembers, with Naruto’s ever so distinctly feral grin. 

With a leap, he aims his knife to the jonin’s neck but was quickly blocked. He summons his shadow clones which earns a quirked eyebrow from the jonin. Sasuke clenches his fist, and Sakura could hear him mutter something under his breath.

“Take this!” the Naruto clones shouts, charging at Hayate in waves.

The jonin takes them with ease, blocking and dodging the clones’ unfocused blows like it was second nature—probably was. No jonin worth their salt couldn’t defeat a genin fresh out of the Academy, the Third War would’ve picked them off like flies at that rate.

Naruto lands back with a thud as his clones begin disappearing in a puff of smoke. Hayate doesn’t let the blond recover for a second and twists the boy’s arms, ignoring the sharp yelp. Like the match with Sakura, he places his kunai to the boy’s cartoid artery, staying that way until Naruto declares surrender.

Hayate coughs, “Uchiha Sasuke?”

The black-haired boy steps into the spot where Naruto once stood and steels his eyes. She notes the bundle of ninja wire in the boy’s punch, attached to newly sharpened kunai. Sasuke had taken to her earlier lesson well, but not well enough for battle, he had a tendency to break the more delicate wires professionals use.

_ (A part of her could only see the man who she reluctantly called ‘husband’.) _

The match itself goes as she expected with Sasuke faring only slightly better than Naruto had. A portion of it went into seamless taijutsu bout that transitions into one-sided ninjutsu once Sasuke launches his clan’s signature jutsu.

“Go beat him, bastard!” a somewhat bruised Naruto cheers from the sidelines. It annoys Sasuke more than boost morale and earns a look of amusement from the jonin. 

Sasuke launches a line of kunai that Hayate effortlessly dodges, all of them lodging themselves in the earth behind the jonin. When the boy sets off another Grand Fireball, it lights a line of fire that surrounds the jonin who quickly jumps away.

Oh,  _ that _ was interesting.

A trick like this was the first thing out of any Academy textbook. She should’ve caught sight of the wires, it wasn’t some she would miss.

But she did and Sakura doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She does neither and joins Naruto in cheering at the sight of the jonin’s slightly singed uniform. Her boys always never did stop surprising her.

In the end, a jonin was a jonin and takes down Sasuke easily. The kunai to the Uchiha’s carotid artery served as a stark reminder of that.

“Surrender?” the jonin says.

“Surrender.”

Sasuke limps back to where the rest of his teammates stood, it was a pulled muscle from what Sakura could tell and a few bruises on his arms from blocking the jonin’s strikes. On his face were furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips that give every thought away.

“You did well,” she says, offering a small smile.

Of course, it doesn’t do much. 

“Hey, bastard!” ah yes, Naruto, back with all that barreling energy, “Don’t be rude to Sakura-chan!”

And of course, it was Naruto that gets the black-haired boy to perk up, even if he did look like a ruffled porcupine.

“Ahem,” Hayate clears his throat (a bit useless if you ask Sakura, pneumonia won’t go away like that) and motions for the three to come over, “That went better than expected,” he points to Naruto, coughing, “—you especially. We will begin formal lessons tomorrow, please bring your full arsenal. You all can rest, for now, I have a report to run through the Hokage.”

“What about missions?” said Sasuke.

The brown hair man gives Sasuke an indescribable look, “I am a substitute, not your jonin instructor.”

With a burst of chakra and swirl of leaves, Gekko Hayate disappears, officially concluding the training’s end. What’s left is an empty hole of  _ wrongness  _ in Sakura’s chest. This world, it’s off by too many marks with too many holes. Had it been because of her intervention? Her slight deviations?

A strong wind passes over like the opening act of a storm ahead causing the boys to flinch and Sakura to stumble, loose hair falling over her face. Grey clouds begin to show themselves, hoarding sunlight.

“Sakura-chan?”

“I’m alright, Naruto,” she pushes the hair from her face and takes a deep breath, “Do you guys want to stay at my place for the night? The weather doesn’t look so good.”

Bright cerulean eyes widen, “Wait! Really? I’ll love to, Sakura-chan!”

“Sasuke?”

“No,” he shook his head, “Something came up.”

She forces a smile, “Oh, alright, good luck then.”

A still silence comes over them, there’s a discomfort that fills the air. None of them move from their spots until Naruto tugs on Sakura’s arm into the direction of her parent’s house.

Naruto turns around and makes a face at Sasuke, “Let’s go! It’s the bastard’s loss anyways!”

-

Hayate curses himself, then Hatake. This illness has only gotten worse over the years, the medics tell him retiring was the only option to save his ailing health. It’s beginning to affect his missions and the Administration Building is keenly aware of that. He supposes he’s lucky a spot for a substitute jounin instructor opened before they relegate him to in-village C-Ranks only. The pay was enough so Yugao won’t have to take more ANBU missions tha3n she already does and he should be content about that.

The genin he received, though, was another story. Two political juggernauts at each other’s throats with a girl who fades into the background too easily it’s unnerving. A team like that was a ticking time bomb, all perfectly wrapped up for Hatake’s misery—except it’s  _ his _ now.

Hatake really did luck out this time.

It doesn’t come out like he expects though and leaves him with more questions than answers. The Uzumaki boy performs too well to be dead last, with an ability an ordinary genin shouldn’t even come close to touching. Ah, but the Uzumaki boy was never ordinary genin, to begin with. Uchiha Sasuke had a few surprises, nothing off for— _and_ he shouldn’t go there.

Haruno Sakura? Well, he doesn’t know where to begin with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cute,, kids
> 
> thank you for the comments and kudos on the last chapter! I really apprieciate it!

**Author's Note:**

> yell at me on [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/anyatitania)


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